River runs red

So the oil and gas rich sandpit of Abu Dhabi (an exploding glass and concrete metropolis near Dubai) is planning to maybe ban the use of Blackberry phones.

Yes indeed. It is busy building a high tech, super modern, no-taxes-paid, international business hub in competition to its better-known neighbour Dubai, but doesn’t like it that Blackberry technology stores all data on servers outside the country as such.

Meaning, in difference to regular cell phone operation systems, all Blackberry data operations are transferring through a US-based server. And so the Abu Dhabi authorities are afraid that state secrets are passing through this US server.

Can’t have it all I guess. Busy promoting yourself as the new, have-to-be-based-in, hi-tech, flashy, international biz hub..... but then having issues with the main communication tool that all CEOs, COOs, MDs, executives, conglomerate bosses, managers, directors, lobbyists, advisors, consultants, financial gurus, board members, company presidents, VPs,... have these days. Can’t be the new biz hub but blocking the main communication tool of the ones that keep the hub flipping and tripping and rock ‘n’ rolling. Something’s gotta give.

Human behaviour sometimes struggles with its own development speed.

As Abu Dhabi is busy building its high-tech future but struggles with high tech comms, South Africa seems to be considering taking its future two steps back.
The ruling party ANC under president Jacob Zuma is planning to introduce a far-reaching Information Bill, and is also thinking of setting up a media tribunal.

Steps back to apartheid era tactics? The victims learned tricks from their oppressors?

It is without a single doubt very important for every state to protect its sensitive information. Be it military secrets, diplomatic background notes or sensitive industrial plans. But leaving the description of what exactly falls under ‘state secrets’ as vague and broad as possible, makes it in fact impossible for most information to be scrutinized, printed in newspapers, ... even openly discussed in parliament. It’s a serious attempt to cover up and hide government affairs as much as possible from daylight. Sounds like censorship.

Same with the intention to set up a media tribunal. The plan has been lurking around in the darker corners of the ruling party’s policy documents for some time, but came to the forefront recently when several South African newspapers criticized ministers of wasting millions on very long stays in 5-star hotels, buying top of the top range luxury cars, splashing out on thousands of soccer world cup tickets,.... A sea of luxury amidst a pool of poverty. South Africa is the world ‘leader’ when it comes to the gap between rich and poor.

So it seems the Zuma cabinet is reviving the evil ghost of the oppressive apartheid regime’s tactics when it comes to media freedom and free flow of information. A flourishing, free, strong media is a cornerstone of a solid democracy. That’s key anywhere in the world. North or south. Rich or poor. White or black.

Look at the nations around the globe where press freedom is under threat or nonexistent or very restrictive. Zimbabwe, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Morocco,.... Remember China and its Google conflict. Is this the path South Africa wants to take only 16 years after it became free of minority rule and apartheid oppression and finally got democracy? It sucks.

Human behaviour is sometimes crawling around in dark corners. Spinning in its own vomit.

Sticking to the same topic. So the spill-the-beans website WikiLeaks put out about 19000 US military and diplomatic documents that were classified.

That’s not a little leak of some secretive info, that’s a whole tidal wave. A tsumani of classified documents. It’s a two sided coin. It is great for trying to understand the unspoken truths/lies and hidden agendas - in this case the US (NATO) operation in Afghanistan and the tense relationship with chaotic neighbour Pakistan. It’s great to bring some of the issues raised – f.i. civilian death count, relations between Pakistan’s secret service and the Taliban – into the open and known to the public. The public that is ending its sons and daughters to the killing fields of Afghanistan (and Iraq). And it is pretty clear since a long time that the US military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq are mired in secrets, hidden agendas, spin, double-speak, commercial goals, historic backdrops, murky geopolitical perspectives,...

But the other side of the coin is that maybe some of these leaked documents can be used by terrorists and fellow cavemen to kill or maim NATO soldiers or Afghan politicians or members of international aid organisations, or even terrorize local communities. So there is some aspect of national security at stake here probably.

From official and unofficial military operations in and around the mountains of Afghanistan to the dirty waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

The BP boss has been moved aside to save the oil giant’s image and US operation (and it’s falling share value). The old BP boss was a Brit who wasn’t always the smartest in his statements about the environmental disaster in the Gulf. He famously once said that he wanted the oil spill to stop as he wanted his life back,... without mentioning the vast devastation the BP f*up caused on the livelihood of the many communities in the area. So BP put a Yank at the helm this time. Should smooth the way with the White House and Congress. The old BP boss is likely to be moved to BP’s Russian operations. So it’s not like the old boss will be joining the unemployed queue and ask for social benefits.

From thick, smelly, sticky oil slicks to crushing killings in a tunnel. All in a week’s global events.

The massive Love Festival in Germany turned into a tragedy. From love to death. From techno beats to cries of pain and final breaths.

The crowd was just too big to handle and when crowd control and crowd flows get out of hand disasters are sadly often lurking and that’s what happened in the festival tunnel entrance/exit.

Sad but true. How a musical afternoon can so easily and so fast turn into a grim reaper’s fury. 20 Killed.

News flashes.

Belgium went to the polls last June 13 but still no government formed in its complex multi-party political landscape.

Mass graves were found in northern Mexico. It seems it was a dumping ground for the victims of Mexico’s druglords. Bullet in the head.

The tiny but super-rich Arab nation of Qatar wants to bid to host a soccer world cup. Strange but true. No soccer tradition at all. Geographically very small with hardly any city development outside the ever growing capital Doha. But too much cash to handle and thus it can throw billions and build new everything. They might aim for the first soccer worldcup with all stadiums enclosed and air-conditioned because their summer is very very very hot.

Qatar has been throwing tons of cash to host big sporting events like Asia Games, ATP tennis, cycling, swimming,... It’s all about prestige and nothing else. And money spins the globe....

But something went ugly wrong recently. The Emir’s TV station Al Jazeera had the TV rights to show the soccer world cup (held in South Africa) live across the Middle East. But as the soccer showpiece kicked off on June 11, and thousands of people gathered around the Middle East to watch it, there was only a black screen. No picture. Nothing. Something went wrong technically. And again for part of the US-England game. The money throwing Qataris were ashamed but couldn’t face reality so they blamed so called ‘saboteurs’ for the mishap. The real truth about why the image stayed black was never made public.

From the South African worldcup in the Middle East to.... South Africa.

Serve & Protect. That’s the slogan for many police services around the world. But for some South African cops the Serve & Protect meant Help Yourself first.

5 Cops have been arrested for stealing chocolate and alcohol from accident scenes. And not just from the backseat of a private car, or just once. No, when you Help Yourself, do it for real. Firstly the cops stole alcohol to a value of US$88000 from an overturned truck on one of the country’s highways. Then 5 days later the same men stole chocolate (!!!) from the wreckage of a crashed truck. This time the value of the goods was US$41000.

But the men in uniform were caught and are facing justice. So when you are unlucky and are involved in a traffic accident in South Africa and you see a cop coming to help you, be aware he might not be there to Serve & Protect, he might just be there looting your car or truck or van or caravan. And maybe afterwards, just maybe, he might come and save you from your wreckage.

It’s all about priorities!

Throw out. So Brooklyn’s punkrockers Life Of Agony just released a commemorative live album called “20 Years. River Runs Red live in Brussels”. The release celebrates the 20th anniversary of this NY underground band. In 1990 LoA recorded its first demo tape. Then 3 years later the band released its debut album “River Runs Red” and made history. Tight riffs, pounding bass, stand out vocals,... and deep, depressing lyrics. The album became a milestone of the underground punkrock scene. After that it went kind of downhill. Or call it ups and downs but the peak of “River Runs Red” was never reached again. LoA broke up, re-united, broke up and re-united again. But here it is. Life Of Agony’s commemorative gig in Brussels back in April 2009 during which it played the whole 1993 album.

C -Ya

collateral – July 2010 is exiting soon